Moscow: India is going through a tough phase of its relationship with China as it furthers its plans to make some progress within the framework of a broader developmental partnership, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

“We continue to manage the complexities in the India-China relationship even as we seek to make progress within the framework of a broader developmental partnership,” she said while addressing the Seventh Moscow Conference on International Security.

Last year, both the countries, India and China were engaged in 73 days standoff over Bejings’s failed attempt to build a road very close to India’s narrow area which connects the North Eastern states.

The standoff was put to an end in last August only after the Chinese troops stopped the construction of the road at Doklam, despite the fact that Beijing never acknowledged it officially. The area of conflict in the stand-off is also claimed by Bhutan.

The Minister of Defence, Nirmala Sitharaman, is presently in Russia on a three-day visit and during the talk she expressed concern over the resurgence of territorial disputes in the maritime domain in the region.

“Maritime territorial disputes are extremely complex. We need to ensure that such issues are managed effectively and solely through peaceful means,” she said.

While noting that from the past few decades of growth, there is a huge transformation in the Indo-Pacific region into the most dynamic engine of the global economy, she said, “We need to ensure that the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region is not put at risk through unilateral actions that can undermine regional peace and stability”.

She also pressed on the rights of freedom of navigation and to ensure of over-flight as well as unimpeded commerce.

“For India, this is vital to sustain its own economic engagement with the Indo-Pacific region for mutual benefit,” she added.

China has been attempting to claim vast areas in the South China Sea, transforming reefs into islands capable of hosting military equipment.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have time and again put their own claims to the same sea, while US warships regularly conduct freedom of navigation exercises near islands controlled by Beijing.

Doklam is an area which is under dispute and is claimed by China and Bhutan to be their own. India does not forwards its claim but only supports Bhutan’s claim.

The Chinese troops on 16 June 2017 escorted with the construction vehicles and road-building equipment to start the construction of an extended road southward in Doklam, a territory claimed by India’s ally Bhutan as well as China. On 18 June 2017, more than 270 Indian troops countered the Chinese attempt with weapons and two bulldozers. And on August 28, both the sides announced that they have decided to withdraw troops from the Doklam area.

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